The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-05-19
GOLD NEAR AUSTIN.
Valuable Discoveries Said to Have
Been Made in William
son County.
A Wealthy Syndicate Formed at
Dallas to Operate the
Mine.

The STATESMAN is not likely to lose its
head in any movement of excitement that
is likely TO spring to the surface. 1t, how
ever, proposes to record events as they
are presented, and then leave the public
to draw their own conclusions.
1t is fact beyond dispute that there
are valuable minerals hid in the bowels OF
the great state of Texas. Enough mas
been developed to show the existence OF
gold, silver, copper, iron, lead and other
minerals, and, if it has not yet been
demonstrated that they exist in pay
ing quantities, that fact does
not conclusively argue by any
means that, under proper management
and more thorough system than has
heretofore been employed, results OF
satisfactory character cannot be obtained.
The failure of the Twentieth legislature
to provide for geological survey was
severe blow to the development of the
mineral resources of the state, but, hap
PLY for the future of Texas, there are
men within her borders who have pluck,
energy and enterprise enough to give the
mossbacks a case of cold shoulder and I'M
dertake the investigation on their own
account. An instance of this kind is at
ha nd and is herewith given:
Some eight months ago farmer, living
about four miles from Mcneil the cross
ing of the Austin & Northwestern and Mis-
souri, Pacific roads, sank an eight inch
we'll on his place. At depth of about
twenty feet, he came to a stratum of rock,
| which, even to his uneducated.eye, had the
appearance of containing mineral. He
spoke of the matter in the presence of
Mr.. G. G. Nunnelly, of Dallas, who has
been the state agent of the Fairbanks
com pany, for the last fourteen years. Mr..
Nunnelly in his early life had spent a
dozen or more years in the mines of Cali
fornia and other sections of the great ore
bearing west and naturally took an inter
est in the farmers story of his find. En-
gaging him in conversation, Mr.. Nunnelly
learned enough to induce the belief that
the discovery was worth an experimental
investigation at least. He accordingly
effected satisfactory arrangement witt
the owner of the land, ant
about seven months ago set about sink
ing shaft. He has worked steadily upo1
it since and has carried a six foot open
ing down to a depth 'of fifty-two feet
The result has exceeded his brightest an
ticipations. He wes in the city yester
day, and was seen by a STATESMAN re
/ porter at the Raymond house, In talking
\ of his mine, he said that he had reached
4 bed of ore fully seven feet in thickness
and as well as he is able to judge, prac
ticallv inexhaustible. He has sen
samples of the ore to Professor Charles
A, Shaeffer, the eminent scientist o.
Ithaca, New York. to the director of CHI
geological bureau at Washington; to thu
government assayist in the New Orleans
mint; to professor Henry, of New Orleans
and to Mr.. A. Balm, of Austin. Th'
samples were taken from the shaft as i
was sunk, and we're taken from tht
average ore, without especial ain
or design to select extra fine pieces of tn
rock. He has heard from all of the par
ties except the geological bureau, AM
ii their report is looked for soon Protes
4 sor SchGeffer found no traces in the sam
: pies sent him, but wrote to Mr. Nunuell
4 that he need not be discouraged on tina
account; on the contrary, to go ahead, a
the result of his own researches in VIII
hanson county fouc or five years ago, ha
convinced him that gold and silver eS
lSbtu III lDO CouhUl- hO III oi"o hhON
the other assayisEs showed a yield, fror
the samples, varying from $40 to $50
per ton.
With these proofs to sustain him, Nj
Nunnelly went to Dallas, enlisted a mum
Der OF capitalists of that city, and the re
suit has been the organization of stoc
company, with capital of $50QNO0, t
work tfle mine. The incorporators @
the company are Jules Schneider, G.
NunneEy, Alex Sanger, R. V. Tompkin.
J.C 0'Connor, T. F. MeEnnis and Jak
Ranch, of Dallas, and f. F. Broadway, q
New Orleans.
These gentlemen are all substantial bus
mess men, most of whom have built u
large fortunes in the commercial pursuit
of life, and they are mot likely to go int
a chimerical venture, and they have be
come convinced that the proper develop
ment of the mine will warrant the outla
necessary, and they propose to plac
machinery on the ground, as soon as pos
sible, to enable thorough testing of tn
quantity and quality of the ore that lie
this fifty odd feet beneath the cap rock
of the ground. 1t is a purely bushes
venture, without fever and without excite
ment The farm en- which the discover
has been made is situated three.quarter
of a mile from the Narrow gauge road
four miles beyond the Missouri Pacific
crossing, and about twenty miles from
Austin. The rock, in which the metal
. have been found, is a silicic limestone
and is pronounced by Mr.. Nunnelly t.
be free milling quartz. 1t is difficult t.
say what practical geologist could NJ
6nd hid awaU in nature's store hOuSe nm
der the hills of Texas. Mr.. Nunnell,
claims to have found, in the course of hi
investigation, iridium, palladium an
aluminium. The two first named are al
Logged with platinum, though rarely so il
iridium.